Painful Memories Uncertain Future
by Julia Mars
Summary: A unique type of demonic attack sends everyone on some unhappy trips down memory lane, but at least the reprocussions lead somewhere...
1. quiet night

The night was dark, and it was silent except for the soft sounds of breathing. Kagome yawned and pushed herself up from the grass on which she had been sleeping (her sleeping bag had been incinerated along with the rest of her belongings from her era in their last battle). Gazing over at her comrades, Kagome saw that Shippou had finally settled down to sleep; after he'd discovered a bottle of coke in Kagome's bag, they'd been preparing for another sleepless night. The little kitsune was now slumped against Kirara. Not far from them, Miroku and Sango were both asleep against the same tree and awfully close, although Sango looked as though she could easily smack Miroku in her sleep if the need arose.

Inuyasha, however, was nowhere to be seen-- on the ground, anyways. Kagome sat the rest of the way up and directed her vision to the tree branches above her. As predicted, the hanyou was leaning on the tree trunk several feet above the spot where Kagome had been sleeping moments before. He, too, was awake, watching the sliver of moon in the sky. The new moon had been the previous night and (true to form) a sleepless one. A very strange demon had arrived early in the morning- _How did it move so fast? I never even got a good look at it!_ thought Kagome- but the group had somehow held it off until sunrise when Inuyasha was able to dispose of it. He was most likely still dwelling on those events, silently cursing the moon. Kagome stared up at him, his hair falling over his form and Tessaiga leaning on his shoulder. Kagome's breath caught in her throat as she saw him bathed in silver moonlight… it was so much harder to conceal hear feeling when she was tired…

The scent of Kagome reached Inuyasha's nose, and he dragged his gaze away from the damned orb in the sky. As expected, she was awake and staring up at him, her eyes big with wonder. _So beautiful…_ he thought, even with the lingering burns from the demon. _What_ was _that thing, besides a fire-breathing something?…_  
A yawn from below brought Inuyasha's tired mind back to the present. He looked down at Kagome and saw her shiver in the cold night air; it strung him once again how weak humans were. Apparently, she had not seen him looking at her, so he continued and found that he could not have taken his golden eyes off the girl if he had wanted to…

"Oh, whom am I kidding?" said Inuyasha to himself sulkily, though not without a smirk. He hopped gracefully off the branches and landed soundlessly a few feet from Kagome.

"Inuyasha," she whispered, relaxing a bit, yet in awe of the hanyou standing at his full height. His ears twitched affectionately as she said his name, and he made his way over to her.

"What are you still doing awake?" Inuyasha asked as he settled himself by Kagome against the tree and set Tessaiga beside him. He made certain to avoid her eyes and forced his voice into a casual tone.

Kagome rubbed her eyes and replied, "I just couldn't sleep." She failed to stifle a huge yawn, causing Inuyasha to give her a strange look.

"You can't sleep," he reiterated, "and yet you're struggling to stay awake?"

"Yeah, pretty much," she said through another yawn. "Haven't you ever been so tired that you can't sleep?"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "I'll never understand you humans," he groaned as he shifted positions slightly.

"Pretty rich, coming from you," groaned Kagome in annoyance as she crossed her arms stiffly.

"And what exactly is _that_ supposed to mean?" Inuyasha snapped into her face, regarding her with a look of supremacy.

Kagome opened her mouth to rudely point out that he saved humans, traveled with them, and loved one (_…or two…_) but then thought better of it after hearing the last bit in her head. "Nothing," she sighed dejectedly, taking Inuyasha by surprise by backing down from an argument. Yawning once again, Kagome allowed herself to slump down against the tree. Sudden, sharp pains in her back made her yelp loudly, causing Inuyasha to pull her away from whatever had hurt her and onto his lap, facing him.

"What's wrong?" he asked with concern in his voice, her hand still clasped in his and his hand still on her shoulder. Kagome would have blushed had she not been in so much pain.

"Burns on my back," she coughed as the stinging made her wince. "The tree bark scratched them up a bit," she added, her eyes watering. Inuyasha smelled that her wounds had reopened and wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.

"I'm sorry you're always in so much danger, Kagome," he told her in an uncharacteristically tender voice. The last thing he wanted was for Kagome to be hurt; yet, currently she was so injured that merely being awake completely exhausted her. It was due to this fact that he tried not to take too much pleasure out of Kagome being in his embrace, though he was failing miserably in that noble effort.

"S'ok," said Kagome softly; "It's not your fault." She let herself fall into Inuyasha as his arms tightened protectively around her small form. _A girl could really get used to this,_ she thought as a small smile crept across her lips and her consciousness faded.

Inuyasha felt the tension in Kagome's body slowly relax as she drifted into sleep. He cradled her head against his shoulder and ran his fingers through her hair, all the while inhaling her sweet, gentle scent. _If only I could do this when she was awake,_ he thought groggily, his head drooping to rest near hers, sleep pulling him in as well.

"I knew it!" whispered Shippou, his own tired and spying eyes drooping.


	2. possession

Sango's scream and Kirara's growl woke Miroku early that morning. He opened his eyes half way before jumping to his feet at the sight. The shapeless flame demon from the previous night had returned, and Sango was doing her best to beat it back with her Hiraikotsu. Miroku threw several exorcism sutras at the demon to give Sango a moment to catch her breath, knowing that they would not last long.

"Inuyasha!" he shouted to the half-asleep hanyou as he grabbed for his staff.

"Hn?" mumbled Inuyasha as he lifted his head slightly and opened one golden eye halfway.

"Where is Kagome?" Sango asked Miroku as she shook Shippou awake.

"She's over there," Shippou answered her, pointing at Inuyasha, who had just become aware of the demon and sprang up. Kagome seeped out of his lap and embrace as he took off, unsheathing Tessaiga as he went.

"Well, that's new," Sango mumbled to Shippou before she raced off to help Inuyasha and Miroku. The demon was bigger this time, and it was a complete blur of flame. Suddenly, the creature circled them all in a fiery dome, the red flames lashing out at their flesh like a prisoner hungering for escape.

"What in the seven hells…" exclaimed Inuyasha in wonder, holding Tessaiga ready. "You should have stayed dead, demon!" he shouted as he, with a mighty swing of the fang sword, sent a wave of the Wind Scar's power at the huge youkai.

"Foolish half-breed," came the reply. The flame creature completely absorbed the attack and released another round of flames to surround them closer. "No attack can penetrate the substance of my-" it began to gloat, but the wall of flame was parted briefly by an arrow shot from inside. Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango turned quickly to see Kagome readying her bow with another.

"Hurry up and find a way to kill it!" she shouted to them. "I can't distract it for long!" She shot her second arrow, but the flames did not part; they condensed into a gigantic ball of fire and flew directly at Kagome!

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!" came the voice of the monster. The flame ball reached her body and passed into it before anyone could even react.

"Oh!" Kagome breathed a second later as she looked to her clenched fist and fell to her knees. She had a look of petrified fear on her face. A wisp of the flame ball's spirit passed out of her and dissolved into the wind.

"Kagome!" shouted Inuyasha as he leaped and landed next to her. "Are you ok?"

A few yards away, Miroku and Sango scanned the surrounding area for any sign of the demon. Upon finding nothing, Miroku rationalized, "The demon must have been destroyed when it attempted to attack Kagome. Passing through her must have purified it." Sango nodded in agreement. Kagome remained silent, a look of terror still on her face.

"Kagome," said Inuyasha soothingly. He took her hand and stroked her cheek gently in attempt to calm her. "What's wrong?" he asked softly.

A whimper escaped Kagome and she opened the hand Inuyasha held. Everyone gasped in awe and fear, for she held a string with a few dark beads and white teeth on it, several falling off the ends because the string was broken. It was all that remained of Inuyasha's rosary and their _–her–_ only means of restraining him. Inuyasha looked down at the place the necklace usually hung and picked off a few stray beads, his face in an unreadable expression.

"M-my hand must have been tangled in it when he leaped off…" Kagome said while struggling to keep her voice steady and willing herself to stop shaking. Inuyasha rose to his full height, cracking his knuckles as he always did before a battle.

"Finally," he said to himself, "my full power is held back no longer…"

Kagome whimpered again in fear of those words. _Full power?_ she thought. _I thought they only held his spirit… oh no…_

"What is Inuyasha like without Kagome's control?" Sango whispered to Miroku, who shrugged and turned to Kagome herself, who was biting her lip so hard that it had begun to bleed.

"Before they were forced onto him, he came pretty damn close to killing me," she whispered.

Inuyasha turned to face them all, a disturbingly smug look on his face. "It seems the tables have turned," he said slyly, still cracking his knuckles.

"Run," said Kagome to the group a few yards away, but they did not move. "I said 'run', you guys! Who knows what he'll do without that rosary! Get out of here!" Miroku and Sango held their ground, but a strange look had come across Inuyasha's face.

"You heard her," he said acidly. "After all the times I've been stopped from retaliating, you can't know what I'll do or what I'm capable of!" His voice rose gradually until he was shouting, but not in anger so much as indignation. Miroku and Sango reached for their weapons with unsure looks on their faces.

"Do not make us fight you, Inuyasha!" Miroku pleaded, but the rest was at cut off by Inuyasha's bitter reply.

"Stay out of my way!" he shouted, advancing on Kagome. She tried to maneuver backwards, but found herself against the tree.

"Inuyasha," she pleaded as he gripped her hand that held the beads." Please, _please_ d-don't kill me… I-" she stammered, but Inuyasha didn't let her continue.

"Kill you?" he repeated angrily. "Just because I can without you stopping me, you think I'd kill you?" he yelled. "Don't you _trust_ me without that thing? Or do you need to control me just to feel safe?!"

Sango and Miroku stood frozen to their spots. Inuyasha could easily kill all three of them without a second thought, but it did not seem to be his intention to hurt any of them. Inuyasha gave Kagome one final look before throwing her hands down and taking off from the area.

"Kagome!" squealed Shippou, racing over to her from his hiding place behind a full size Kirara. Miroku and Sango followed him over to the petrified girl. Sango kneeled down next to Kagome and hugged her tightly. Miroku, knowing that his consoling would not help much considering the way Kagome felt for Inuyasha, pondered the circumstance for a moment.

"Kagome, what was in that last look Inuyasha gave you?" he asked seriously as he stared off in the direction that Inuyasha had run.

Sighing heavily with tears streaking down her face, Kagome looked up at the monk. "Anger, hurt, and betrayal," she replied. Unable to continue, she collapsed in the arms of her friends and cried.


	3. hanyou introspection

"How dare she…" growled Inuyasha as he leaped through the forest. Kagome had been afraid of him and pleaded with him for her life, just because the damn rosary had broken. By watching her reactions, one would assume that Inuyasha hated her, or wanted her dead.

"Well, I did try to kill her, but that was a long time ago!" he admitted and defended. Besides, he had been thinking of Kikyou sealing him to the tree, not Kagome herself. Had their time together meant _anything_ to her- or did she honestly think he only kept her around as a shard detector? In that case, how _the hell_ did she explain the previous night?

Inuyasha dropped in mid leap at that thought. The phrase "too good to be true" was coming to mind a bit too strongly. Both he and Kagome had warmed up to each other in the time since her first trip through the well, but many things held them back from- well, Inuyasha didn't exactly know what. Kagome would know what to call it. It was just that there were so many fears to overcome, plus collecting the rest of the shards, and Kagome being from five hundred years in the future-

Even in his head, it sounded stupid. Inuyasha knew he would jump at the chance to, as Kagome's modern friends called it, be "official" with Kagome, regardless of the adverse circumstances and affects. If it were not for Kikyou's quasi resurrection, things would be so different…

"Damn you, woman," sighed Inuyasha with a hand kneading his forehead; "Everything goes back to you." Kikyou had loved him; Kikyou had betrayed and killed him; Kikyou had tried to kill Kagome; Kikyou's resurrection wanted to drag him along to hell with her… Hell, it had been _her_ weakened powers that allowed Naraku to form and screw up their lives! Now she was all that was wrong between Inuyasha and Kagome-

_Well, not anymore,_ thought Inuyasha as he remembered why he had left everyone in the first place. With Kagome under the impression that he was a bloodthirsty monster without the rosary, he could not stay with the group. Her reaction had wounded his hear so severely; how could she ever think that about him _now_? Who would have thought that such a powerful hanyou could be destroyed by a human begging for her life?

Nothing was making sense to Inuyasha anymore. Only a few hours ago, Kagome had been in his embrace, and now she seemed to hate him. Sighing heavily, he sat against the trunk of the nearest tree and imagined that the small form of a certain human girl was still in his arms.


	4. on the trail

Back at the campsite, Miroku, Sango and Shippou had done their best to figure out what had happened, but not to much avail. Before long, though, Kagome had sensed a Shikon shard, and they decided to pursue it. It was en route that Miroku decided to bring up his suspicions about Inuyasha's behavior.

"Kagome," he began, phrasing his thoughts carefully, "did you notice anything peculiar about earlier?"

Kagome turned to him with a forced blank look on her face. "What do you mean?" she replied just as blankly.

Miroku had hoped that he would not have to bring up the incident. "When the rosary was broken," he stated casually, "it did not seem that Inuyasha sought to harm us in any way."

Kagome did not outwardly respond, for she had been aware of that fact for hours. Her pace slowed as she considered the idea. She had been apprehensive when she had first seen the rosary, but not afraid. However, Inuyasha had said that his "full power was held back no longer." At those words, Kagome had suddenly remembered very clearly the first time she had met Inuyasha, when he tried to kill her. It was as though she'd unconsciously thought that it would happen again… _But that's silly,_ she thought. If he only protected her out of courtesy and for her shard detecting power, he would not be so wildly jealous of Kouga, among other things. He would not have taken her in his arms the way he had the previous night… His haunting look of betrayal apparently was not far from the truth.

"What have I done?" Kagome cried silently to herself.

She did not have much time to must the thoughts, though, for a huge demonic aura was quickly surrounding them all.

"This aura- it is like that fire demon's, but-" Miroku started, but he broke off as the earth itself began to shake.

"I sense it-" a voice called, but its owner was nowhere to be seen. "You are those who killed my flame, and you have _Shikon shards!_" The earth around them began to shake more violently as the voice continued yelling.

"Hiraikotsu!" cried Sango as she beat the ground with her boomerang bone. Surprisingly, the earth stopped shaking abruptly after one hit. Sango barely had time to stare curiously at the spot she had hit before a shiver ran through her body, and she screamed in fear. "Kohaku! NO!" she yelled as she sank to the ground. A moment later, the spirit was expelled from her body, and again it dissolved into the wind.

"Sango!" cried Kagome as she, Shippou and Kirara made after Miroku towards Sango. The young monk sank to her side and placed his arms around her, uncharacteristically avoiding her rear.

"It's Kohaku," said Sango, her voice trembling. "I thought he was dying, swallowed by the quaking earth…"

As Miroku comforted her, Kagome stared up at the tree line, hoping but not expecting to see help arriving in the form of a red-clad dog hanyou… She helped Sango to her feet and they continued on, shaken but for the most part all right. Miroku continued pondering the two attacks as they walked on. The two demons had been defeated easily, and their spirits had passed through the body of their destroyer. Immediately following, the destroyer had seen a vision of something she feared- perhaps a terrifying memory relevant to the situation?

Timing, as always, was against them. Out of nowhere, water flooded across the ground at an alarming rate. Kagome grabbed for Shippou's hand and a tree to steady herself against the current. Sango took off immediately on Kirara. "Miroku!" she called to the monk, but he did not seem to hear.

"Stay back!" he warned, and released the seal on his right hand. "WIND TUNNEL!" he shouted, and all the water was sucked into the abyss within his palm. True to form, the spirit of the water demon entered into him and passed out moments later, dissolving into the wind.

"Are you ok, Miroku?" asked Sango as she and Kirara landed nearby. The monk had a prolonged look of terror on his face from the childhood memory of his Kazanna almost drowning him in a bath. He recovered quickly, though, and took advantage of Sango's concern for him and her close proximity… and got smacked royally.

"This is getting really freaky," said Kagome to herself. "It's like we're all getting momentarily possessed…"

"Kagome?" said Shippou from around her ankles. "I wish Inuyasha was here."

"Me too," sighed Kagome sadly. She and Shippou walked over to the rest of the group to decide what to do next.

"Miroku, do you know what this is?" asked Sango weakly.

"Yes, I am now sure of it," he replied firmly. "The spirit of the demon we fought yesterday was sent off; I did not get a chance to seal it. The spirit must have entered into the four elements to attack us again."

"It's not a very strong reincarnation, then," said Kagome flatly. "They seem to get destroyed pretty easily.?

Miroku sighed, "That is not their true power. After destruction, the spirit passes through its conqueror and causes him or her to envision his or her worst relevant memory."

Kagome and Sango gasped in unison as they realized the truth in Miroku's rationalization. "What do we do?" they both asked.

"You DIE!" came a voice with an abrupt strengthening of the wind. It took everyone by surprise, and each found him- or her- self pinned to a tree. Kagome cried out a shriek of pain from the bark on her burned back; she felt the cauterized wounds ripping open, and blood was seeping all over her blouse, turning it a dark shade of crimson. As her vision began to fade, she saw a red clad figure hop down from a tree and attack the wind itself…


	5. final attack

The last of the wind died down immediately as Inuyasha activated his Wind Scar. It condensed into one huge gust and blew through him, casing him to fall to his knees. A cry made him lift his head; he saw Kagome lying in the center of the clearing and someone standing over him- _himself…_

"NO!" yelled Inuyasha as he sprang over to Kagome and himself without thinking. His other self faded out as Inuyasha reached Kagome and saw that her shirt was a very deep crimson. He uttered her name softly and laid a hand gently on the darkest red of her shirt. As he feared, there was no substance beneath it; his full demon self had clawed right through her. There was no hope…

Inuyasha cradled Kagome's unconscious form in his arms and leaned his head over hers. "Kagome," he said softly, his voice breaking and tears leaking down his cheeks. She was dying at it was all his fault, just like all of her pain was… _It wasn't supposed to end like this…_

Kagome stirred in his embrace. Inuyasha lifted his head and tried to figure out what to say to her, but she shrieked the moment she saw him. "Get away from me, you monster!" she shouted and pushed with all her might away from him.

"Kagome, I-" Inuyasha began, but could not bring himself to finish. Kagome was dying, yet using the last of her strength to get away from him; it was all too much. What had he done to her that-

_What_ did _I do to her?_ Inuyasha suddenly realized. How could he have watched _himself_ kill her?

The vision passed, and Inuyasha was kneeling alone in the center of the clearing. The wind was still, and a Shikon shard was lying where he had seen Kagome's figure; he pocketed it. Inuyasha looked around and saw the entire gang up against the trees. Kirara was the only one moving, and she was trying to nudge Sango awake. Kagome laid face down on the ground, and her blouse was crimson. Landing next to her in a heartbeat, Inuyasha once again felt her back and found that her wounds were bleeding, but she was in no life threatening danger.

"Was it… a hallucination?" he asked himself.


	6. aftermath

Kagome woke a little while later, unsure of how long she had been out. She opened her eyes very slightly to see Sango, Miroku and Shippou on Kirara somewhere above; Kirara along seemed unhurt, and her three passengers seemed to be asleep. Turning her attention to her own predicament, Kagome recognized the familiar feel of jump running and Inuyasha's clothing. Silver hair flew back with her own, softly brushing past her face. She was wearing his red coat, Kagome realized, and it dawned on her that her own shirt was too blood-soaked to protect her from the cold. Kagome whispered Inuyasha's name in relief that he had come for her, and she was about to burry her face in his hair when he spoke.

"Yeah, it's me," said Inuyasha bitterly. "Don't worry, I didn't do anything to you; I'm just taking you back to Kaede's village," he added, the bitterness in his voice bleeding with hurt.

Kagome felt the sting from his voice. It had not occurred to her until he had said that what Inuyasha could have done to her, or that she trusted him to not do anything of the sort. "Was it… did you rescue us?" she asked weakly.

"What's it matter to you?" Inuyasha exclaimed. He touched down and pushed off a bit harder than he had intended out of pent-up anger.

Kagome hung on as always for dear life, but the guilt she had been harboring was beginning to get to her. "Th-thank you, Inuyasha," she whispered. She pressed her face deep into his soft hair, enjoying as it caressed her face and torso, and she fell back into sleep… Inuyasha tightened his hold on Kagome as her body slumped against his. He had not meant to snap at her, but he was still in shock from his vision earlier. Miroku had woken just long enough to tell Inuyasha about the elemental demons they had faced and the effects each had had. Inuyasha reasoned that since the wind version he had battled had the spirits of all four and a Shikon shard, he had absorbed the worst effects; instead of seeing a relevant memory, he had lived his worst semi-relevant fear. It was not something he ever wanted to live again. He needed time to think before he could talk to Kagome.


	7. resolve

A few days had passed since Inuyasha had returned everyone to the village. Sango, Miroku and Shippou were out of bed, but Kagome had lost a lot of blood, and her burns were healing slowly. Kaede was doing her best, but Kagome's guilt had sunk in, and she was too miserable for a proper recovery to come. She had killed Inuyasha's spirit when she had been possessed; it was worse than every time she had made him 'sit' combined. With guilt that strong, there was no room in her mind to think about getting better.

What Kagome did not know was that Inuyasha was always around, just never when she was awake. Sango and Miroku had told him how Kagome was fairing, and he wanted to help, but he was afraid of scaring her. With that (and, moreover, his pride) in mind, he came when she was asleep. He would watch her sleep on the pretense of merely protecting her, although he could not deny how much he enjoyed just being near her. Kagome sometimes had nightmares -_Hopefully not about me,_ Inuyasha often thought- and he would help her through them, either taking her hand or stroking her cheek… During on such visit, Kagome began showing signs of another troubling dream. She tossed and turned so vigorously and violently; Inuyasha almost thought she would wake, but took her hand nonetheless.

"Kagome," he cooed soothingly as he ran a hand over her hair, very glad that the rest of the gang was nowhere near (to his knowledge, anyways). Kagome's eyes, which had been clenched shut in the nightmare, eased a bit at his touch.

"Inuyasha," she muttered in her sleep, sitting up slightly. "Inuyasha, I'm so sorry… I should have trusted you." Inuyasha felt her grip tighten on his hand when she spoke, and her eyes even flitted open and shut for a split second. "I'm so sorry…" she repeated softly. He bent down close to her to whisper in her ear.

"It's ok, Kagome," he said very quietly. "It's not your fault." Kagome's eyes squeezed shut tightly for a moment, but then the dream seemed to pass. She slumped against Inuyasha, who held her close in his arms; it would take a whole lot more than that for Kagome to shock him after the events of the last couple days.


	8. finalé

Kagome seemed to recover quicker after that night. The village healer and Kaede had even allowed her to get up and walk by the end of the week. Since the villagers were busy, and she did not want to bother them, Kagome took to walking in the forest. She often found herself by the sacred tree or the well; they were, after all, how she'd come there in the first place… how she'd first met Inuyasha… where _was_ that stupid hanyou, anyways? Kagome had a strange feeling that he was avoiding her again. She did not see him until one evening when she was attempting to distract herself from her thoughts by watching the sunset by the well. She heard someone approaching and turned around quickly to see Inuyasha standing on the lip of the well across from her.

"Hey," he said casually and slightly awkwardly.

"Hi!" Kagome replied enthusiastically, making Inuyasha's ears perk up. He jumped across the well effortlessly and sat down next to her.

"Listen, Inuyasha, I'm so sorry about-" Kagome began, but Inuyasha interrupted her.

"Don't," he said stiffly. "It wasn't your fault. Miroku explained about the demon's effect on you. I understand," he explained. Inuyasha could not bring himself to tell her about his own bout with the demon.

Kagome, however, did not seem satisfied. "Demon or no demon, I shouldn't have let a stupid memory do that to me- to you," she continued.

Inuyasha wished she would quit whining, although it was nice to know that she felt guilty about what she had put him through. "I already told you it's not your fault, idiot," he said lightly, some of his old spunk back in his voice. "Memories are memories, and _anyone_ should be afraid after one of my attacks," he added smugly.

Kagome smiled; Inuyasha was definitely his old self again, but then he did something a bit out of character. Inuyasha abruptly pulled her into his lap, facing him- the same way they had been when the demon originally screwed things up. "Kagome," he said, clasping her hands in his. "You know I would never really hurt you, right?" His intense golden gaze held her transfixed and mute for a moment before she could answer.

"Of course," she replied breathlessly. Inuyasha pulled her into a close hug and held her firmly. Kagome allowed herself to return it, enjoying every minute of the closeness.

"You asked me once if I would promise to protect you forever and ever," Inuyasha stated blandly. The affirmative muffled reply came from the folds of his coat. Inuyasha pulled back slightly so that he could look Kagome in the eye when he spoke. "Well… I promise," he finished with unsuppressed emotion in his voice. He placed a finger under Kagome's chin, leaned in close and gave her a soft, gentle kiss. Kagome closed her eyes and gave in. It was surprising that such a powerful creature could be so sweet when he wanted. It was not the first kiss they had ever shared; she had kissed him once to break an evil spell, but they had never discussed it. This was different; instead of desperation, it was an acknowledgement of how stupid they had been to hold back so long. Kagome looked up at Inuyasha when they finally pulled apart, glad yet unsure of what had just happened.

"Inuyasha…" was all she managed to say, her eyes positively sparkling.

"About time!" said a chorus of familiar voices. Inuyasha and Kagome whipped their heads around so see Shippou, Miroku and Sango standing at the other side of the clearing. They each had a sly look that added, "I told you so…"

"Oh damn it all," growled Inuyasha. Kagome saw him turn a lovely shade of blush before he put her on his back and took off into the forest. The other three watched them go, all smiling knowingly. After several minutes, Inuyasha finally came to a stop somewhere near the forest edge. He sat down against a tree as he once again put Kagome in his lap and embrace. She looked up at him, clearly lost for words.

"I'm not complaining, but what brought _that_ on?" Kagome finally choked out, her eyes still sparkling.

Inuyasha looked away for a moment and decided to tell her the whole truth. "You guys aren't the only ones who had bouts with that damn demon," he began to explain. "The wind demon that I battled had the spirits of all four and a Shikon shard, so instead of seeing a memory, I lived what I fear most at the time."

"What did you see?" asked Kagome breathlessly.

Inuyasha looked down at her. "Myself…" he said. "I saw myself standing over your lifeless body. That form disappeared, and I rushed over to you… you were alive, but used your last strength to get away from me, fearing I would land the final blow." He found he could not continue. Kagome twirled a lock of his hair around her fingers and gave him a tight hug.

"Inuyasha, this is all my fault. A stupid memory caused-"

"No," said Inuyasha finitely. He took a stronger hold around Kagome as if to reinforce his next words. "I allowed deceit and mistrust to destroy the only good thing in my life once before; I refuse to let that happen again." Inuyasha fixed another intense and serious look on Kagome as he finished.

"So, does that mean…" Kagome began wearily, hoping she would not have to finish the question. His promise would mean nothing unless-

"Kikyou is dead, and nothing will change that," Inuyasha stated firmly. "If I don't move on, I may as well be dead, too… but I'm alive," he explained. The hardened expression he wore when thinking about Kikyou melted into the warm, soft face that would have made Kagome go weak at the knees if she had not already been sitting. "I'm alive because of you, Kagome," he finished.

With that said, Inuyasha pulled her into another soft kiss. This time, though, Kagome knew he really meant it; he had just told her that he chose her over Kikyou. Rather than feeling triumph over the priestess, she felt a rush of warm emotions toward Inuyasha, who was currently caressing her lips with his own. Her lips parted, allowing him to slip in a taste her as his embrace tightened passionately.

"Oh, Inuyasha," Kagome gasped when they parted at last. She threw her arms around his neck and laid her head to rest on his shoulder. Inuyasha's tender embrace was a sharp contrast to Miroku and Kouga's relations with women; the monk felt it necessary to feel them up, and Kouga seemed to think they were property. Being held so intimately by the hanyou easily won out in Kagome's mind. She felt so safe in Inuyasha's arms, as though nothing could harm her… she chuckled as she realized how true that was. The cool night breeze began to blow once more, sending chills up Kagome's spine. Inuyasha slipped off his red coat and wrapped it around Kagome and himself. Temptation became too much as he took hold of Kagome under the coat, and one clawed hand crept gently across the soft skin of the girl's lower back. Kagome smiled at his touch and readjusted his white shirt so that her head could rest on his bare chest. Neither felt it necessary to rush into anything, though; both subconsciously knew that life would continue as usual the next day and that they would need to continue their search for the shards.

It seemed, however, that the search might prove to be a bit more enjoyable from then on, though…


	9. Japanese Glossary

I integrated several Japanese terms into my fics for several reasons. The English terms in most cases do not do them justice. _"Sankon Tessou"_ sounds way less cheesy than _"Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!"_. There are also varrying disagreements on accuracy, even within VIZ. Compare the Inuyasha manga to the anime- _"Sankon Tessou"_ apparently means _"Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer"_ if the picture moves and _"Claws of Steel"_ if the picture is stationary. Anyways, I these are the _rough_ translations I have infered

unique to Inuyasha

Baka: fool/idiot  
Bakuryuuha: backlash wave attack  
-chan: suffix added to any name denoting affection or youth  
Chichi-ue: old respectful way of saying 'father'  
Arigato: thank you  
Fuugin no Mai: dance of blades  
Gomen: I'm sorry (appologies)  
hamaya: purity arrows  
Hanyou: half demon  
Houshi: monk  
Ji-chan: Grandpa  
Katana: samurai sword  
Kazanna: wind tunnel  
Kaze no Kiza: wound of the wind (wind scar) attack  
Kekkaigiri: barrier breaking attack  
Kitsune: fox  
Kitsune Bi: fox fire  
-kun: suffix added to a male's name denoting close friendship  
Miko: priestess  
Nani: what?  
Osuwari: Sit, boy!  
Ronin: masterless samurai  
Rurouni: wandering  
Ryuuja no Mai: dance of the dragon  
Sakabatou: reverse blade sword  
-sama: suffix added to any name denoting extreme respect (Lord or Lady)  
-san: suffix added to any name denoting respect  
Sengoku Jidai: warring states era/ feudal era  
Shinidama Chuu: soul collectors  
Shitsurei Shimashita: I'm sorry (excuse me- leaving a room)  
Youkai: demon  
Youki: demon energy/ demonic aura


End file.
